This research, part of the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program, is designed to develop predictive models for catalytic mechanisms and catalytic poisoning. This research is supported by a Presidential Young Investigator (PYI) award. Among the fundamental questions to be answered are: How many surface metal atoms participate in the bonding of a single adsorbate molecule?, What are the relative contributions of metal s bonding of a single adsorbed particle? and How do the electronic structure anmd geometry of the metal-adsorbate complex vary with metal cluster size and composition, and with coadsorption of other species? The interaction of alkanes with size-selected metal clusters will be studied. Coadsorption studies of carbon monoxide with hydrogen or nitric oxide will also be studied. Techniques of time resolved laser spectroscopy will be used to obtain the dynamics, energy levels and structures of intermediate species.
